A two-stroke engine, in which the inlet opening of the transfer channel into the crankcase is controlled by a control element which is connected to the crankshaft in a rotatably fixed manner, is, for example, disclosed in DE 101 50 322 A1. From, for example, United States patent application publication 2002/0134326, it is also known to control the inlet opening of the transfer channel into the crankcase by way of the piston skirt. In known two-stroke engines, the control of the inlet opening of the transfer channel is executed in such a manner that the inlet opening is open when the transfer window is also open. In United States patent application publication 2002/0134326, the opening of the inlet opening into the crankcase is delayed in relation to the opening of the transfer window into the combustion chamber, so that exhaust gas is pre-stored in the transfer channels.
It has been shown that, in the case of two-stroke engines, in the higher rotational speed range or while operating with a cold engine, a combustion pattern can arise in which very high pressures develop which can lead to wear on components. Further disadvantages of the arising combustion pattern are reduced power, an unstable maximum rotational speed and a high noise level.